Tips for objective exams

PYRAMID IAS ACADEMY

KARAIKUDI
1. Read the question and try to answer it
BEFORE looking at the answers.
Le Chateliers apparatus is used to carry
out ( TNPSC 2008 )
a) Consistency test b) Tensile test
c) Soundness test d) Compressive
strength.
Read the question. You know the
answer is " Consistency test ".
Start by looking for " Consistency
test " among the answers. By
thinking of the answer first, you are
less likely to be fooled by a wrong
answer. ( Particularly for questions
based on formulae )

Soundness test is performed by
A) Le Chateliers apparatus
B) Autoclave apparatus
C) Both a & b D) none of these
Even though (A) is true, (C) is the
correct answer. It is important to
read all the answers, and not just
take the first correct answer you see.

1. Slump cone test is used to measure
a)Strength of concrete b) Workability of
concrete C ) bleeding of concrete d) None of
these
2. Workability of concrete is measured by
a) Slump cone test b) Compacting factor test
c ) Flow table test d) all of these
41. The unit of stress in SI units ( TNPSC 2008
a)N/mm
2
b) kN/mm
2

c) MN/mm
2
d) all of these
EXAMPLES FOR SUCH QUESTIONS
2. Do not spend too much time on any one
question. Sometimes the question will
seem to have no right answer:
The moment distribution method was
given by
A) Maney B) Kani C) Euler D) Eddy
1. Your question setter may have made
a mistake. There may not be a right
answer.
2. It is important not to waste too much
time trying to answer an impossible
question.
3. Choose an answer at random, but
circle the question number so you
can come back to it later if you have
extra time.Go on to the next question.
1. Similarly, if a question is too
hard, or you just do not know
the answer, choose an answer
at random and come back
when you have completed all
the questions you do know.
2. Use whatever time is left over
at the end of the test to tackle
these very difficult questions.
3. If the question asks you something
you do not know, see if you can cross
out any of the wrong answers before
you guess:
174. The station having two lines is
called as( TNPSC 2008 )
a) crossing station b) flag station
c) junction station d) terminal station
You may not know anything about crossing
station and flag station .
But you do know that junction station and
terminal station have more than one lines . So
(C) and (D) must be wrong answers for this
question.
By crossing out (C) and (D), you only have to
guess between (A) or (B). That means you have
a 50/50 chance of getting it right, just by
guessing.
By carefully eliminating answers you know
must be wrong, you can increase your chances
of guessing correctly.
Imagine that you only know the answers
to half the questions on a multiple-choice
test. Normally, your score would be 50%.
But if you can eliminate one wrong
answer for each question you are unsure
about, you could bring your score up to
67%.
If you can eliminate two wrong answers
for each question you are unsure about,
you could raise your score to 75%.

Try this..
14. The construction of the temporary structure
required to support an unsafe structure is called
a) underpinning b) scaffolding
c) shoring d) jacking

123.R.C.C. electric poles are generally made of (
TNPSC 2008 )
a) light weight concrete
b) prestressed concrete
c) cold weathering concrete
d) quick setting concrete

4. Do not keep changing your answer.
Sometimes the question will seem to
have two right answers:

7. The rock generally used for roofing is
( TNPSC 2008 )
a) Granite b) Basalt
c) Slate d) Pumice
Choose the answer that seems best to you
(Slate?) and move on to the next question.
Do not keep changing your mind. Research
shows that your first choice was probably the
right one.
Most people who change their answers will
change from a correct one to a wrong one.
Only change your answer if you are
absolutely sure you made a mistake.
(For example, if another question on the test
reminds you of the right answer.)

5. If the answers are given in numbers (
either in descending or ascending order)
, the answer is most probably b or c
Examples
6. The standard size of masonry bricks is
( TNPSC 1998 )
a) 180mm*80mm*80mm
b) 190mm*90mm*90mm
c) 200mm*100mm*100mm
d) 210mm*110mm*110mm
5. The height of the Pilots eye above the
runway surface is assumed ( Tnpsc 1997
)
a) 1 m b) 3 m c) 4 m d) 5 m

9. In India, generally the sleeper density
per rail length used is ( TNPSC 1998 )
a) 12 b) 18 c) 24 d) 30


28. In Indian Railways, the approximate
weight of rail section is determined from the
formula. ( TNPSC 1998 )
a)
b)
c)
d)

Weight of the rail 1
Axial load of locomotive 310

Weight of the rail 1

Axial load of locomotive 410

Weight of the rail 1

Axial load of locomotive 510

Weight of the rail 1

Axial load of locomotive 610

6. For extreme cases look for

extreme answer
14. The maximum length and pavement
strength of the runway is that of
( TNPSC 1998 )
a) G 7 b) A 1 c) B 2 d) B 3
16. A platform is said to be a high level
platform, if, ( TNPSC 1998)
a) The height of the platform above rail level is
0.8 m.
b) It is situated above highest flood level
c) Its height above sleeper level is 0.4 m
d) It is situated on high-speed track.
17. The standard dimension of a wooden
sleeper for a BROAD gauge. railway track
are
a) 1.83 m x 20 cm x 11 cm (
TNPSC 1998)
b) 2.74 m x 25 cm x 13 cm
c) 1.75 m x 20 cm x 12 cm
d) None of these
7. For Intermediate cases look for
Intermediate answer
26. The maximum degree of curvature
for metre gauge is limited to ( TNPSC
1998 )
a) 100 b) 160 c) 300 d) 400
NG MG BG
8. Choose the answer having
repeated words / codes
Example
191. A.L.U. means ( TNPSC 2008 )
a) Arithmetic Logarithmic unit
b) Arithmetic Logic unit
c) Automatic Logic unit
d) None of these
192. Memory size of A drive
floppy is ( TNPSC 2008 )
a) 1.54MB b) 1.42MB c) 1.44MB
d) 1.34MB
15. Match List I correctly with List II and select your
answer using the codes given below
( TNPSC 2008 )


List I List II
a)
Stretcher bond (1) The bond containing
alternate courses of
stretchers and headers
b)
Header bond (2) The bond containing
alternate stretchers
and headers in each
course
c)
English bond (3) The bond containing all
stretchers
d)
Double Flemish
bond
(4) The bond containing all
headers
Codes:

a b c d
A)
1 2 3 4
B)
3 4 1 2
C)
3 1 4 2
D)
4 3 2 1
9. Look to see if any of the answers is
much longer than the others.
The person making the test wants the
right answer to be completely true.
To make it completely true, they
sometimes add more details to the
correct answer, making it much longer
than the others.
examples
1 31. An aquiclude is ( TNPSC 2008 )
a) a non- artesian aquifer
b) a confined bed of impervious
material between aquifers
c) an artesian aquifer
d) a large water body underground
164. The main object of providing a
camber is ( TNPSC 2008 )
a) to make the road surface impervious

b) to make the road surface durable
c) to drain off rain water from road
surface, as quickly as possible
d) all of these
10. If two options are mutually opposite,
then the answer will be one of the two
options
132. Perched aquifers generally
occur
a) below water table
b) in aquicludes
c) above water table
d) in artesian aquifers
122. In concrete, if the reinforcement
wires are stretched after the
concrete has hardened, it is called (
TNPSC 2008 )
a) post tensioning
b) initial tensioning
c) high tensioning
d) pre tensioning
11. See if one of the answers sticks out as
the "odd one out". Since there is only one
correct answer to a question, that answer
has to be different from the other
answers. So if you see two or three
answers that all mean the same thing,
they must be the wrong answers.
a) north b) west c) south d)
prevailing wind
Since " north ", " south ", and "west" all mean
roughly the same thing, chances are the
answer is " prevailing wind ", even if we do
not know what the question was. This trick is
dangerous, however. Sometimes the "odd one
out" can fool you. Maybe the answer was
"north". But this trick might help if you are
guessing blind anyway.
77. Runway is usually oriented in the direction
( TNPSC 2008 )
a) north b) west c) south d) prevailing wind

122. In concrete, if the reinforcement wires are
stretched after the concrete has hardened, it
is called
a) post tensioning
b) initial tensioning
c) high tensioning
d) pre tensioning
12.None of these is most probably
the wrong answer
159. The type of transition curve
recommended by IRC is ( TNPSC
2008 )
a) cubical parabola b) lemniscate
c) spiral d) none
of these
124. The diameter of the rivet before
riveting is called ( TNPSC 2008 )
a) nominal diameter b) gross diameter
c) net diameter d) none of these

134. The storage capacity of a reservoir
may be divided into three zones. The
lowest zone is ( TNPSC 2008 )
a) dead storage b) useful storage
c) surcharge storage d) none of these

13. All of these

121. The major loss of prestress is due
to
a) shrinkage of concrete
b) slip on anchorage
c) relaxation of steel
d) all of these


14. After you have finished the
test, go back to those questions
you circled as being too hard or
as having no right answer.
See if you can answer them now.
Take as much time as you have.
Never leave a test early, unless you
are sure you have answered every
question correctly. If you still cannot
answer the question, then guess.
You have a 25% chance of getting it
right anyway; more if you can
eliminate one or more of the wrong
answers.
Never leave a blank on a multiple-
choice test.

General Tips
Take Short Breaks
Try taking a few breaks during the exam by stopping
for a moment, shutting your eyes, and taking some
deep breaths. Periodically clearing your head in this
way can help you stay fresh during the exam session.
Remember, you get no points for being the first
person to finish the exam, so don't feel like you have
to race through all the items -- even two or three 30-
second breaks can be very helpful.
What To Do If More Than One Answer
Seems Correct
Ask yourself whether the answer you're
considering completely addresses the question. If
the test answer is only partly true or is true only
under certain narrow conditions, then it's probably
not the right answer. If you have to make a
significant assumption in order for the answer to
be true, ask yourself whether this assumption is
obvious enough that the instructor would expect
everyone to make it. If not, dump the answer
overboard.

If you think an item is a trick question,
think again. Very few instructors would
ever write a question intended to be
deceptive. If you suspect that a question
is a trick item, make sure you're not
reading too much into the question, and
try to avoid imagining detailed scenarios
in which the answer could be true. In
most cases, "trick questions" are only
tricky because they're not taken at face
value.

If, after your very best effort, you cannot
choose between two alternatives, try vividly
imagining each one as the correct answer. If
you are like most people, you will often "feel"
that one of the answers is wrong. Trust this
feeling -- research suggests that feelings are
frequently accessible even when recall is poor
(e.g., we can still know how we feel about a
person even if we can't remember the
person's name). Although this tip is not
infallible, many students find it useful.



At the Exam
A. Do not attempt to read through the
question paper fully. You may lose
time and may not have time to
answer all the questions. The ideal
method is to take up one question at
a time and answer them one by one.
B. You need to compartmentalize your
mind and take one question at a time.
Think and decide on the right answer.
Once you have answered, forget it and go
ahead and tackle the next one and so on.
Dont carry your doubts of the previous
question to the next.
C. There may be questions for which
you may not be able to strike the
right answer straight away. You may
skip it, but mark it in the questions
paper so that it is identifiable and
come back to it later.
However, the best approach is to make a
DECISION and answer then and there.
You may not have time to come back to
the question again. Further, there may
always be lurking feeling that you have
left some questions unanswered. This
could be always in the back of your mind.
However, if you do have to change an
answer, please ensure that you erase the
previous answer carefully and fully.

D. Please do not think of coming
back to the answers for
correction later on. Change them
only if you have additional
insights or data, which
necessitates that your previous
answer was incorrect.
E. You may decide in which order you
want to answer the questions. Some
tend to start from question no. 50 or
100 as it gives them confidence they
are progressing and come back.
However, the ideal approach is to
answer sequentially one at a time.
F. Take one question at a time. Read
it fully and carefully. Identify the
stem, the key concept that is being
tested. Underline the core concept,
which is being tested. Read all the
choices even if you think you have
the right answer in the first or
second or third choice.
G. As there is no penalty for
incorrect answers, you should
answer all questions. Even in the
case of questions where you are
not sure of right answer, you
should guess intelligently.
H. For choosing the right answer, you
may be able to identify the right
answer straight away. You may also
adapt the process of elimination by
ruling out the incorrect choices one
by one so as to narrow down your
choices and pick the right choice.

I. Every question will have one of the
choices framed as a distractor. The
distracter may attract those with
incomplete knowledge or attempting
to answer the question with just
common sense. It is essential to be
able to eliminate the distracter.
It is recommended that you
record your answers directly on
the answer sheet so that you
eliminate the risk of running out
of time to do so.
K. If you have to modify your
answers for any reason, please
ensure that you erase the
previous choice properly so that
there is no trace of marking else
as it may be construed as
multiple marking and your
answer ignored during grading.
L. Your concentration level may
come down after an hour or so. If
necessary, pause and take a few
deep breaths, then get back to
the task. Consistent
concentration is important.

M. You may encounter some questions
which are familiar to you, which you have
answered in standard objective questions
or in the test questions. Dont be
prejudiced by your past answers. Read
the question fully, understand it, and
look at the choices and then answer. It
may be possible that the questions may
have been rephrased or re-worded and
may have a different answer to what you
have seen in the tests
or the choices may be re-arranged or
rephrased.
N. In the choices, when there are
two choices which are similar, pick
the one which is more macro and
bigger in nature. Remember the
context of the situation as given in
the question and the available
choices have to be considered to
arrive at the best choice.
O. Ensure that you are marking the
answers exactly. Cross-check
regularly to ensure this. You have to
be extra careful if have skipped any
questions to be answered later. It is
important to ensure that you skip
marking the answers for that
question.


Other Test Tips
The best way to do well on a test is to
know the answers. However, when faced
with a question you cannot answer, these
tricks will sometimes work on poorly
written multiple choice tests. Only use
them if you do not know the answer and
have to guess anyway.
1. If you have absolutely no idea
what the answer is, choose (C).
Teachers often try to "hide" the
correct answer in the middle of the
wrong answers. So they choose (C)
for the correct answer more often
than any other letter.
2. When you have to complete a sentence, see if one
of the answers fits better grammatically than the
others.
A dog is an A) animal B) machine C) mineral D)
vegetable
In this question, the "an" gives you a clue to the right
answer, because you know the correct answer has to
start with a vowel. "An animal" works, but it would
have to be "a machine" or "a mineral" or "a
vegetable" to be a correct sentence. Since the
question says "a dog is an " rather than "a dog is a",
the answer has to be "animal" -- because "animal" is
the only one that fits with the "an" in the question.
3. Look to see if any of the answers
repeats key words from the question.
An example of a nuclear reaction is A)
hydration B) combustion C) sublimination D)
nuclear fission
Even if you do not know what the
question means, the answer is
probably (D) because it repeats a
form of the word "nuclear", which is
a key word in the question.
4. If you have to guess, and spot a typing error
in one of the answers, choose one of the
other answers. Sometimes the teacher making
a multiple-choice test will proofread it by
reading the question, looking at the right
answer, and going on to the next question.
They forget to proof the wrong answers. So if
there is an error, it is more likely to be a wrong
answer. (This does not work as often since
teachers started using computers and spell-
checkers, but you can still check for
homonyms.)

More Multiple choice exam tips



General Rule: Break each question into the
stem and the alternatives. Get an
understanding of the stem before looking at
and choosing an alternative. Underline key
terms and clue words in the stem. When you
run into vague terminology, define in your
own words. Think of the correct answer and
then look for it among the alternatives.


1. Don't guess too soon! You
must select not only a correct
answer, but the best answer. It is
therefore important that you
read all of the options and not
stop when you come upon one
that seems likely
2. You must select not only a technically
correct answer, but the most completely
correct answer. Since "all of the above"
and "none of the above" are very
inclusive statements, these options,
when used, tend to be correct more
often than would be predicted by chance
alone.



3. Be wary of options which include
unqualified absolutes such as
"never," "always," "is," "are,"
"guarantees," "ensures." Such
statements are highly restrictive and
very difficult to defend. They are
rarely (though they may sometimes
be) correct options.


4. The less frequently stated converse of
the above is that carefully qualified,
conservative, or "guarded" statements
tend to be correct more often than
would be predicted by chance alone.
Other things being equal, favor options
containing such qualifying phrases as
"may sometimes be," or "can
occasionally result in."



5. Be wary of the extra-long or
"jargony option." These are
frequently used as decoys.


6. Use your knowledge of common
prefixes, suffixes, and word roots to
make intelligent guesses about
terminology that you don't know. A
knowledge of the prefix "hyper," for
instance, would clue you that
hypertension refers to high, not low,
blood pressure.
122. In concrete, if the reinforcement wires are
stretched after the concrete has hardened, it is called
a) post tensioning
b) initial tensioning
c) high tensioning
d) pre tensioning



7. Be alert to give-always in
grammatical construction. The
correct answer to an item stem
which ends in "an" would obviously
be an option starting with a vowel.
Watch also for agreement of subjects
and verbs.


8. Utilize information and insights
that you've acquired in working
through the entire test to go back
and answer earlier items that you
weren't sure of.


9. If you are not certain of an answer,
guess... but do so methodically. Eliminate
some choices you know are incorrect,
then relate each alternative back to the
stem of the question to see if it fits.
Narrow down the choice to one or two
alternatives and then compare them and
identify how they differ. Finally, make an
informed guess.




10. If you have absolutely no idea
what the answer is, can't use any of
the above techniques, and there is
no scoring penalty for guessing,
choose option B or C. Studies
indicate that these are correct
slightly more often than would be
predicted by chance alone.


11. When you get "all the above,"
"none of the above," or "a,b, not c"
type questions, treat each alternative
as a true-false question and relate it
back to the question stem.



12. Think the answer is wrong?
Maybe you should change it? Studies
indicate that when students change
their answers they usually change
them to the wrong answer.
Therefore, if you were fairly certain
you were correct the first time, leave
the answer as it is.


13. Finally, the best way to ensure
selection of the correct option is
to know the right answer. A word
to the test-wise is sufficient.




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